| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Apr 2012 : 20:16:25
|
Hello fellow scribes
My current campaign, which has been going on for almost 4 years now, is almost reaching to an end! I want the last few quests to be memorable, using encounters that the players will remember. I need ideas to make encounters for the next quest as interesting as possible. These were the first high-level characters of each of my players, so monsters who are now a challenge for them have never been encountered yet.
Here’s a premise for the coming quest; they need the cooperation of one the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (inspired from the biblical Horsemen), nothing less. Not much is known about them, except that they sow death and destruction wherever they go, locations that appear to be random, and they have been doing that for thousands of years. They have recently located their haven, which is on a semi-plane adjacent to Limbo, where they are held in statis until they are needed. They hold a crystal that contains the humanity of one of them, and they hope that bringing it near him will awaken him and he will help them in their quest (which is to find and destroy the sword of Kas by the way). Nothing is ever so easy right?
The plane is very small; it contains only a single keep where the horsemen reside. They are in statis in a room that will require that they break 4 seals to open, one for each of them. The 4 horsemen are symbolized by the following; Victory (white), famine (black), death (pale/greenish) and destruction (red). The 4 seals will be encounters in theme with each of the horsemen, in a location that fits. Once they open the door, the 4 horsemen will be displayed around the room. A central pedestal will allow anyone with access to it to send the Horsemen on a destruction spree on a location of his choosing, revealing the mystery of the location they have attacked for millennia. The PCs, when they’ll bring the crystal in proximity to the white horseman, will awaken all of them and a final battle will end this quest.
They will have to hurry, because time on the material plane is going much faster while they are in the demi-plane. A war is happening in the north, any delay of a few hours will result in missing out weeks in their home, where loved one need their protection. Resting will not be an option. They are level 18, six of them, but none of them used optimal builds. They have a rod of true resurrection with 10 charges, so encounters can result in death of a few with no penalty, as long as they can finish the fight. Escape will be impossible during each encounters, physical or trans-dimensional.
Here’s what I had planned so far
1- White Horseman, in the Throne room, a single Fallen Solar (same as base creature but CN). It symbolizes the greatness necessary to achieve victory, and the cost required to achieve it.
2- Pale Horseman, in the chapel, a necromancer lich level 20 with 4 Entropic Reapers (libris mortis) enhanced to CR 16. Death is easily symbolized here. My PCs have plenty of tools/spells to dispose of undeads easily, so this encounter could be quickly dealt with.
3- Red Horseman, in the training grounds, a Balor (2 actually, as it will gate in an ally during round 1). Again, destruction is easily symbolized with the mightiest of demons. My players will freak out on this one, they know the monster from the LotR movies, and they are probably not looking forward to meeting one. Well, maybe THEY do, but not their characters!
4- Black Horseman, in the dining hall, a very old red dragon. This creature will be dining on a feast that could feed an army. It symbolizes gluttony and the effectiveness of burning crops and cutting supplies during a war, which is even more effective than beating an army. I considered a few Famine spirits from MM2 instead, but the monster is not interesting and I’d prefer to avoid using 2 undead encounters.
The last battle will also be interesting. All 4 horsemen will be characters of ECL 20, using a mount that fits them.
White: Pal 10 / Blackguard 10, riding an armored white stallion
Pale: Sorcerer 20, scythe wielding grim-reaper riding a greenish skeletal horse
Red: Fighter 20, head emblazed, riding a nightmare
Black: Rogue 20, Kinda Gollum-looking, riding a dying, starving black horse
After 3 failed Will saving throws (DC to be determined), the white knight will regain consciousness and fight his brothers who held him captive.
So that’s about it, if you have any ideas on how I could make those encounters more interesting, like using additional terrain elements, of different monsters, I’m all ears!
|
Edited by - Kilvan on 17 Apr 2012 20:17:32
|
|
|
Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2012 : 17:48:44
|
A couple questions:
1) What's the difference between the White rider and the Pale rider? Do you mean pale the way the Book of Revelation does it, which is really a light green?
2) Shouldn't the Black rider be a BLACK dragon, rather than a red?
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
 |
|
|
Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2012 : 18:24:44
|
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
A couple questions:
1) What's the difference between the White rider and the Pale rider? Do you mean pale the way the Book of Revelation does it, which is really a light green?
2) Shouldn't the Black rider be a BLACK dragon, rather than a red?
Cheers
1) It is indeed light green, like in the Book of Revelation, or the wikipedia page in my case... The pale rider himself is the Grim Reaper, but his skeletal mount will have a green hue
2) Interesting, I hadn't thought about that. The actual color of the horsemen isn't so important, the symbol (famine in this case) is really what I want to portrait in the encounter. Two birds with one stone in this case, thanks! |
|
|
|
BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2012 : 21:39:26
|
| It's not a Realms book, but Pathfinder does have a book on the Four Horsemen... They are at the top of the daemonic food chain. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
|
|
|
Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2012 : 21:43:50
|
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
The Greek word from the Bible is <khlôROS>, meaning pale greenish-yellow or yellowish-green.
So that's why, another detail lost in translation. |
|
|
|
Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2012 : 21:47:39
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
It's not a Realms book, but Pathfinder does have a book on the Four Horsemen... They are at the top of the daemonic food chain.
Found them! http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Four_Horsemen
Thanks Wooly! They are somewhat different than those I customized, but I can definitely use some additional details from them. |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2012 : 21:56:01
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kilvan
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
It's not a Realms book, but Pathfinder does have a book on the Four Horsemen... They are at the top of the daemonic food chain.
Found them! http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Four_Horsemen
Thanks Wooly! They are somewhat different than those I customized, but I can definitely use some additional details from them.
The book goes into a lot more detail, but that link gives you some ideas. I particularly like the fact that it's a title, and that only one of the current Horsemen is from the original Four.
I prefer the Great Wheel to Pathfinder's cosmology, but I'd happily adapt their books on Lower Plane nastybads for use in the Realms. I'm hoping they do something similar for the Higher Planes. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 19:32:05
|
Wow, consider all that stolen.
I want to get into Golarion now, but I fear it is too late... there's too much lore.
Where have I heard THAT ONE before? |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
|
Edited by - Markustay on 20 Apr 2012 19:32:26 |
|
|
|
Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 19:56:00
|
| Nothing is impossible after Planescape. Just think of it as being like moving to a new city ... after you've done it a few times there aren't any obstacles left. |
[/Ayrik] |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2012 : 02:44:32
|
Kilvan, I really like this idea, and I think I may well borrow it at some point in the future.
How did the game go? |
|
|
|
Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2012 : 16:21:30
|
Sure, if you do be sure to tell me how it went.
On my part it went really well. The Balor created a well-deserved WTF moment, the Balor being one of the creatures the PCs had heard of on many occasions, but never encountered one. It was the first encounter they had, so it went really well for them.
The second fight was against the Solar, and really, he just exploded in 3 rounds. The druid cast Summon elemental Monolith (earth) dealing about half the total damage with a single 9th level spell. The arrows of slaying dealt mediocre damage and did not succeed on slaying anything. This fight was not really fun.
Third was the Great Wyrm Black Dragon, it was probably the most balanced encounter of the bunch. Classic dragon encounter, the fighter was the one to finish it... while being swallowed, he's very proud of that one.
Last seal was a sorcerer level 20 lich with 4 enhanced Entropic Reaper. I used a time stop right away and put about 10 layers of protection on the guy and a prismatic wall between him and the rest. The Reapers were no slouch either, the PCs realized after a few rounds that they had to put them down first. This was by far the best fights of the quest, they actually feared to TPK at one point.
Last fight was a bit disappointing, I expected the PCs to be much more emptied of their spells by then, so I made the encounter balanced with that in mind. As they focused on one knight after another, the battle came down much easier than expected.
All in all, it was a very encounter-oriented quest, but it provided me with an opportunity to use some of the most classic high level encounters at once. I think my players liked that, but were also pleased to go back to a more RP-oriented formula. |
|
|
|
Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2012 : 16:28:31
|
And BTW the campaign is now done, with a final battle against Vecna using the Sword of Kas. Good stuff all and all, a conclusion that included Mask taking back the Intrigue Portfolio from Cyric and Mystra stopping another attempt by Shar and Cyric to kill her. This will probably be my last 15+ campaign, things got boring after reaching high levels. Encounters pretty much always took 2 hours, and not especially fun times.
Now we are back to level 4, where my rogue-paladin of Hoar will attempt to avenge his murdered family! We fought bandits last week, it took all of 15 minutes for the full encounter, weeee!
And the best part, I don't DM!! |
Edited by - Kilvan on 13 Aug 2012 16:30:24 |
|
|
|
xedrick
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2012 : 10:13:44
|
haha! Sounds like a blast. I'm enjoying running the game, but I'm secretly waiting for it all to be done for the same reasons you cited; mainly because I want to play, lol.
We had a chapter-finale battle this weekend, the single encounter took our whole session, 6 or so hours. First one I've ever done that's taken that long, and (though it was a lot of fun) I'm not looking forward to another. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
